Accidental Snagging

[reelnmn]

I was wondering what determines a legal hookup?  For instance, if your bed fishing and flip a jig in there.  The bass is facing away from you swims up to the bait nose down and flares it's gills.  You set the hook and reel the fish in only to find the fish is hooked outside the mouth...legal?  Or what if your crankin' or jerkbaitin'.  You catch a fish but all the trebles are outside the mouth?  Typically I've always thrown bedfish that were "snagged" back when I'm in a tournament, but was just wondering if there was an official rule on the subject.  

Thanks.

[Raul]

I was wondering what determines a legal hookup?

The laws or the rules.

In Cali any fish not caught by the mouth is snagged and the law says you have to release the fish immediately. In some tournaments you can 't keep foul hooked fish, the rules forbid it.

[reelnmn]

Thanks Raul for the quick reply.  I've been searching VA regs but can't find anything as far as snagging...

The tournaments I fish are quite small.  The rules/regs don't cover any snagging issues.

I found this under Rule 7 for B.A.S.S. tournaments:

"...Anyone guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will have their catch disqualified. When visually fishing for bedding bass, to be counted as a legal fish all bass must be hooked inside the mouth and must be verified by your partner before being unhooked."

[Raul]

If you don 't find it the regulations and laws of the state then it 's because it is not illegal or it is not being even considered.

Rule number 7 of BASS tourneys is a good example of a rule ( not a law ) that regulates tournaments, snagging or foul hooking is forbidden ( disqualification of the catch ) in tournament, it doesn 't necessarily mean that it 's illegal in the state where the tornament is taking place.

[Marty]

There's a difference between snagging (a deliberate act) and foul-hooking (accidental). Rules vary by state. In NY, snagging is illegal, as it probably is everywhere, but a foul-hooked fish may be kept except for trout and salmon.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

I think rules & laws go after folks seeing a bass and trying to snag it, as in sight fishing beds, or using techniques designed to primarily snag fish, like drop lines stretched across a passage or ripping weighted snagging trebles below a dam, as in snagging for catfish. An unseen bass not zeroing in on a bait and getting snagged when the angler wasn't trying to snag it is probably not a prohibited catch by law or rule. I'd guess many tournament bass are caught over beds in choppy water where seeing them is impossible. Bass can spawn in 20 feet of water if it's clear enough for sunight to warm the eggs. Notice the emphasis on sighted bass.

Jim